WBD's options as PAR rejections continue / CHARTER sets layoffs / SKYSHOWTIME's big red ink
Mornin!This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya likeor email me atseanmcnultynyc@gmail.com),and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know onWednesday, October 22, 2025.
WhereNBC giving a full hour to the NBA launch for a pre-game show last night starting at 6:30 p.m. ET — with a tip-off finally at . . . 7:45 p.m. and no local news orTonight Show given the doubleheader — says all you need to know about the value that NBC is putting on sports for the future of the network’s business over . . . pretty much everything else.
AND: I’m also sure you’re hearingplenty from the sports die-hards in your life today about how awesome it was to hear the “Roundball Rock”NBA on NBC theme song again. You totally missed it, bro! Ok fine, yes,Janice — it was pretty cool, and I’m sure NBC is loving thedouble overtime East Coast game result. 🤯 Free of charge in the NBA deal!
BUT: Given that theWSJcited sources “familiar with the matter” putting**NBCU annual losses between $500M to $1.4B** in the early years of the deal . . . it’s gonna need all of the double OT games it can get.
ALTHOUGH: NBC is at least getting higher ad rates at**$130k per commercial vs. TNT’s estimated $50k** in addition to other revenue boosts described by theWSJin the piece.
HOWEVER: The ROI on the“Return of MJ! 😱” money is gonna need some work — that 3-minute thing at halftime was . . . I’ll just say,overhyped brief. Lotta commercials to work in to pay off a $2.5B a year NBA deal.
BUT: At least Hollywood isn’t the only industry OPENAI is looking tocrush enhance . . . by far.
OPENAI has hired over 100 former investment bankers to create a better AI tool for the banking community, to help them get better atfiring people building financial models. And the bankers are making a smooth $150 an hour for sitting there and running prompts with the AI and building financial models that they can create in their sleep because . . . ya know, they had thousands of hours of training to do so. Ahem.
Tho, just me — or does $1,250 a day (8-hour day) seem like an insult to an ex-investment banker? Then again, I’m sure they got the best ones to do this.
NEXT UP: Step aside SORA 😏, and**Meet ATLAS**! That’s OPENAI’s new cutting-edge product called a . . . “web browser” (🤷♂️) that is 100% coming for GOOGLE’s Chrome business. Here’s a demo video which makes ATLAS seem to be part browser, part chatbot.
ALTHOUGH: Don’t you worry, Hollywood . . .Sam Altman still somehow has room to eat your lunch too.
Anyone who was wholly reassured by OPENAI’s broad statements this week in the new SAG statement about SORA, like***“OpenAI has strengthened guardrails around replication of voice and likeness when individuals do not opt-in,“** —* withoutany further details about those guardrails — well, I’ll just at least point out here that creators (and microdrama makers) have no such stated protections, or an organization to at least fight for them.
In the meantime, I really hope the Hollywood studio message in return to the company continues to be 👇.
Plus, you’ll have a fan in Brendan Carr. Via Giphy
OH: **“Ticket fees” are 29% of the total face value of concert ticket prices in New York,**according to a new analysis of 68 venues by the NATIONAL INDEPENDENT TALENT ORGANIZATION.
Bump that up to 39% for tickets sold on 3rd party reseller sites. So yes, I’ll just continue enjoying the experience economy in my house.
WELL: At least you can always count on a solid bargain from Hollywood! Ah dammit 🤦♂️ . . .HBO MAX is doing its previously alluded to #pricehike now for new customers, and current customers will see the price hike in your next bill starting Nov. 20.
Ad tier: $11
Ad-free: $18.50 (note — this is in the same month that the product is losing CNN and does not have the NBA returning. #boldchoice)
Bougie: $23
Annual plans are +$10, $15 and $20 a year, respectively.
NOTE: WBD did this on the same day of its “For Sale” announcement, just as DISNEY did its #pricehike news on the day it was restoring Kimmel. #WeSeeYou 👀
THUS: 6 of the 7 big streamers (HBO MAX, NETFLIX, APPLE TV, PEACOCK, DISNEY+, HULU) have raised their prices this year.
Gotta say kinda surprised AMAZON PV still has not — oh no, I’ve said too much. 🙇♂️
Just wait until America sees the value proposition when Ellison merges HBO MAX and PAR+!
SO: Yes, I think we can finally finish the “Streaming Era Pricing Hustle” tombstone, and etch “c. 2016 to 2026. Suckers!” onto the face of it.
NOW: Meet the “Streaming Bundle Gambit” era! Which, yes, looksjustlike its grandfather on its mother’s side (don’t tell it about the balding gene), “The Cable Bundle” — its tombstone is 2 down to the left next to the “Streaming Era Price Hustle,” can’t miss it 🪦.
PEACOCK & APPLE TV: Regular cost, $24; Bundle cost, $15.
DIS+, HULU, HBO MAX: Regular cost: $35; Bundle cost, $20.
AMAZON PV: Free with AMAZON PRIME (or $9)
PAR+ or PEACOCK: Free with WALMART+
Note: You now also get 5 of these free with a good ol’ SPECTRUM cable TV subscription (no APPLE or AMAZON), along with AMC+, BET+, DISCO+ and VIX.
STARZ is also not included, but it has plenty of bundle action out there.
NETFLIX: Still on its own at just $8 a month, tying PAR+ for the lowest monthly price of the major streamers.
All with ads, just like ‘Pa’s Cable TV bundle.
ALSO: FOX will air 69 FIFA World Cup ⚽️ next year — 34 on FOX like it did in 2022, plus 35 on FS1. All will stream on FOX ONE.
THEN: AMAZON’s Black Friday NFL game (EAGLES vs. BEARS) will stream globally on PRIME VIDEO in November, a la NETFLIX’s Christmas NFL games.
FINALLY: Just a shout-out to Jersey’s own, and a longtime GIANTS fan,Tommy Pelphrey, for keeping it real in Philly while promoting his PA-based HBO seriesTask.
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✋ WBD rejects 2nd offer by PSKY
Gene’s AI is still leading the negotiations — gotta monetize TCM somehow. Via Giphy
Ya know, you schedule a knee surgery weeks in advance for a Tuesday morning, figuring — ah, Tuesday mornings are usually kinda sleepy . . . and then NETFLIX changes precedent by moving its earnings call date to that day, and WBD confirms “You’re damn right we’re for sale!” that same morning . . . and karma laughs at me in the corner (there’s aTaylor Swift song for this situation, right?)
But I digress — here’s the latest, with a big picture WBD buyer reality check breakdown that . . . well, I’m really not seeing much of out there.